


Flower Language

by tendous_satoris



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: (as if that's new), 5+1 Things, Anzu is basically only here bc I got excited abt her being in the anime LMAO, Flower Language, Flowers, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I wrote this instead of studying, Language of Flowers, M/M, Sort of? - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, a lot of fluff, added her last minute for fun, air-head Hokuto rights!, also hey I didn't know another word for poofed so?? poofed is a word now, ignore the title I know it's bad, ok it is a DAMN SHAME that's not a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 00:43:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19262521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tendous_satoris/pseuds/tendous_satoris
Summary: It started off simple. A red rose poofed into his face at lunch and a mysterious smile.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Natsume seems to have gotten into the habit of giving Hokuto flowers. A lot. And Hokuto has no idea what it means.





	Flower Language

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, is 2019 just the "Write For Every Fandom Except My Main Fandom (Haikyuu!!)" year for me?? 
> 
> I wrote most of this instead of studying my Canadian History exam... I'm dumb! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy! <33

**i. Red rose**

 

It started off simple. A red rose poofed into his face at lunch and a mysterious smile.

 

Hokuto and the rest of Trickstar were gathered on the rooftop, eating lunch and enjoying the nice, hot weather.

 

“Ugh, it’s at times like this that I wish our school had lighter clothes for our uniforms…” Makoto was saying, having already shed his jacket and was slumped on Mao’s shoulder. “I’m gonna get overheated if the heat keeps up like this…”

 

“I think they’re selling ice cream in the cafeteria,” Subaru commented, in a similar state to Makoto, head on Mao’s _other_ shoulder, “we should go get some.”

 

“Thought you’d never say that,” Mao said in an almost triumphant tone, shrugging them off and pulling out two somehow-unmelted popsicles from his bag, handing them to Makoto and Subaru, “I bought some earlier ‘cause I knew you two would be whining over the heat. Want one, Hokuto?” He asked, throwing him a smile.

 

“I’m good, thanks,” Hokuto replied, almost laughing at the fact that he needed to raise his voice over their resident manzai duo yelling about how reliable and amazing Mao is (or, in Subaru’s case, just yelling). “How did you even take those up here in your bag…? I would’ve suspected they’d have melted by now, what with how much time has passed since we went to the cafeteria…”

 

“ _Magic_ , Hokuto~.”

 

“Did someone say _Magic?_ ” A voice said suddenly from behind them, making them all turn their heads to find Natsume behind them, stood a few feet away with his arms behind his back as usual.

 

“Oh, Natsume!” Subaru greeted, waving his unoccupied hand, an action mirrored by Natsume. “How’s it going?”

 

“Hello, Baru-kun, nice to see You. It’s going Well, thank You,” He said with a nod, “but I’m afraid I’m here to see someone Else.” Natsume’s eyes were now trained on Hokuto as he stepped closer, mouth morphing into that mysterious smile Hokuto always found to give him butterflies in his stomach (not that he would ever dare to admit that out loud).

 

“Do you have some business with me, Sakasaki?” He asked with a raised eyebrow, getting a little bit flustered by how intense Natsume’s golden eyes were at the moment but refusing to let it show in his posture.

 

“Ah, no, not really~,” Natsume hummed, stepping even closer until the toes of their shoes were a centimetre away from touching, his heart rate only further spiking when he leaned in close enough to feel for Hokuto to feel his breath on his face as he said, “Just wanted to give you Something~.” With those words, Natsume’s face was replaced with a blood red rose, close enough for Hokuto to smell its pleasant floral aroma.

 

Hokuto blinked. ‘ _All of that for a simple sleight of hand trick?_ ’

 

“Ah, thank you…” He elected instead to murmur with a smile, taking the rose and making a slight show of deeply inhaling the scent, if only for his own amusement, “It’s very beautiful.”

 

“I’m glad you think So.” Natsume returned the smile, having returned to his original position several feet away, before raising his hand in another wave and saying, “Well, then, I’ll be on my Way. Good night, Guys.”

 

“Bye, Sakasaki-kun!” Makoto called as he walked away, before turning to the rest of them. “That was… weird.” He muttered once Natsume was out of earshot.

 

“No doubt about it,” Mao laughed, sending a smirk Hokuto’s way. “How’d _you_ find that, Hokuto? What with him getting all up-close-and-personal.”

 

“Have you guys been getting more friendly recently or something?”

 

“It was certainly odd,” Hokuto responded, gazing down at the rose in slight confusion himself. “And no, Subaru, we haven’t. That was a completely random encounter, I’m just as in the dark as the rest of you.”

 

“Weird,” Mao said, digging into a new popsicle that, once again, made Hokuto question how the _hell_ Mao kept them from melting (perhaps he was, actually, magic). “Maybe he has a crush on you?”

 

Mao’s words were not meant to be teasing, this Hokuto was sure of. His tone was casual, saying the words with the same inflexion he’d used to ask if Hokuto wanted a popsicle just a few minutes prior.

 

This did absolutely _nothing_ to stop Subaru and Makoto, of course.

 

“Oh my god, he totally does!” Subaru cried, _far_ too loud for such a small group, poking Hokuto’s side earning a grunt, “Natsume _totally_ has a crush on Hokke!”

 

“I really don’t think so, I think he might just be messing with me…”

 

“Nah, I’m with Subaru,” Makoto teased, snickering, scooting next to Hokuto to copy Subaru’s hip-poking, “he definitely likes you.”

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be some sort of straight man to this guy’s antics?” Hokuto hissed, clutching his sides in protection with what he was sure must have a bright red face, before sighing. “Sakasaki is a natural flirt, I’m sure he does that with plenty of other people.”

 

“Uh, get close enough to _almost kiss them_ , and giving them a flower that explicitly means ‘ _I love you_ ’?”

 

Well, when Mao put it that way, Hokuto supposed he _was_ being a bit silly.

 

He shook his head, though, in vehement denial that his crush of almost 2 full years now could _possibly_ like him back. “I still find it hard to believe, and he’s probably just teasing me or something…” He ignored the rest of his unit’s disbelieving looks. “Besides, Hibiki-senpai uses roses in his magic tricks too, he most likely just picked it up from him. Now, I would like to drop the subject if you all wouldn’t mind…”

 

With that, the topic was all but pushed to the back of Hokuto’s mind, in favour of watching a back-and-forth argument between Subaru and Makoto about whether _cereal was a soup_ , and they were able to continue on with their day as normal, made easier by the fact that Natsume didn’t show up for the rest of the day.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Hokuto put the rose in a vase on his bedside table, ignoring his grandmother’s question about where he got it.

 

He dreamt of magic and gardens full of red roses that night.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Natsume didn’t show up to class again for a week after that incident. Though Hokuto couldn’t help but be annoyed as the class president, he was at least glad for the fact that he didn’t have to face him until then.

 

That Tuesday, Kunugi-sensei assigned a group project for English class. A visual presentation on the novel they had studied (with specifications that it could _not_ be a Powerpoint presentation because Kunugi-sensei was frankly bored of them and would fail the whole class if he ever had to see one ever again).

 

Hokuto could hear Subaru and Makoto’s snickers loud and clear from across the class as Natsume made a beeline towards him.

 

“I would like you to be my Partner, Hokke-kun.” It was a less a request or question and more of a demand as Natsume practically slams his hands on his desk, not that Hokuto would have said no regardless. Natsume had the highest marks in their grade, he would’ve been a fool not to take him up on this.

 

“Sounds good,” He says with a nod. “Would you like to meet in the library after school to work on it? At 3:15?”

 

“I would be delighted To~.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

**ii. White carnation**

 

Hokuto is, unfortunately, unsurprised to find the library devoid of Natsume when he arrives at 3:15.

 

Well, that wouldn’t stop him from doing his own half of the project, he thought as he sat down at a free desk. Regardless of how good Natsume’s grades were, he wasn’t going to wait up for him.

 

He couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched throughout the whole process, though. It was an odd feeling, the feeling of eyes on the back of your head. Hokuto tried to dismiss it but he was certain there was something _lurking_ , maybe even right behind him‒

 

That feeling was essentially confirmed when, as soon as Hokuto tried to turn around to look behind him, a pair of hands covered his eyes and gently guided his head back to facing his laptop.

 

“ _Guess who~_.” A deep, unfamiliar voice murmured in his ear, forcing Hokuto to repress a shiver.

 

“Um, Hibiki-senpai…?” He took a chance. While he had a good feeling that that was not the correct answer, it was his best guess as Wataru was the only one he could think of who had a large amount of skill in terms of voice manipulation.

 

The chuckling he heard as the hands were pulled back confirmed that his guess was not, in fact, correct.

 

He was close, though.

 

“While I’m _truly_ honoured that you would mistake me for my Nii-san, Hokke-kun,” Natsume laughed, sitting down and opening his own laptop, “I’m afraid it’s just Me. I apologize for being Late, I… had an incident involving my Senpai.”

 

“No worries, it’s only been about 15 minutes,” He hummed, seeing the clock read 3:31. “We should get started on the joint part of the project…”

 

“Sure Thing~.”

 

The next 15 minutes were filled with nothing but the sound of typing and the idle chatter from the rest of the students in the library, but Hokuto found himself getting repeatedly distracted by Natsume’s bright red hair in the corner of his eye.

 

It reminded him of the rose Natsume had given him last week.

 

Oh dear, that was not a good train of thought to go down.

 

“S-Sakasaki,” He blurted, internally cursing himself, and under Natsume’s sudden undivided gaze, found himself unable to not continue, “if I may ask… why did you give me that rose the other day?”

 

The look of genuine confusion that crossed over Natsume’s face could have easily fooled Hokuto if it weren’t for that mysterious butterflies-inducing smile that appeared just a beat later.

 

“Hmm, I’m not Sure…” Even the tone of his voice perfectly matched the perplexed look in his eyes, Natsume really needed to work on his controlling his expressions better, “Did you not like It?”

 

“A-ah, it’s not that,” Hokuto cursed himself again for stuttering under such a simple question, “it’s just… roses are more of a _Hibiki-senpai_ thing. I’m just confused why you didn’t go for something else, I guess.”

 

 _Wow_ , his improv skills have been improving. Hokuto couldn’t help but give himself a mental pat on the back for coming up with such a good excuse.

 

“Ah, you do have a Point, Hokke-kun!” Natsume said, and before he knew it, there was what looked to be a white carnation poofed in Hokuto’s face, again close enough to smell the (different, but equally pleasant) perfume (which Hokuto was fairly certain Natsume had added himself, because since when do carnations smell like vanilla?). “Seems something like _this_ would be more my Style, don’t you Agree?”

 

God, he even winked as he said that.

 

This little game Natsume was playing was seriously going to be the death of him.

 

Natsume handed him the carnation and went back to his work as if nothing had happened, but that didn’t stop Hokuto from being unable to focus for the entire 20 minutes of work that followed.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Another flower was added to the vase, and Hokuto was glad his grandparents weren’t home to ask him yet another question about where _this_ flower came from.

 

Just like his vase, white carnations were added to his dreams as well.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

**iii. Pink cattleya orchid**

 

Thankfully for Hokuto’s heart and steadily decreasing attention span, the next few days were once again Natsume-free.

 

He was in the theatre doing some private rehearsal for an upcoming play the Theatre Club was putting on. He’d been having trouble really capturing the _essence_ of his character, as Wataru had put it, and had thought some extra work was in order.

 

His character had just finished an epic, utterly tragic monologue about his lost love and even more lost humanity, and he was about to fall onto the ground in heart-wrenching tears (it wasn’t in the script or anything, but Hokuto thought it would be a good idea as a way to both pull at the heartstrings of the audience and impress Wataru) when he heard clapping from the very back right corner of the audience.

 

Hokuto couldn't help but wonder how he'd miss such a loud hair colour when that was the exact place he'd been looking at for most of the scene.

 

“That was Incredible, Hokke-kun,” Natsume said as he got up and began walking closer to the stage, wiping away an obviously forced tear from his eye, though Hokuto was flattered regardless, “your acting truly touches my Heart. No wonder I've always found myself drawn to your character while watching the Plays…”

 

Hokuto pushed back a blush, instead opting to say a small word of thanks before murmuring, “What are you doing here, if I may ask? It's after school hours, and you weren't even in class today…”

 

Natsume chuckled at that, coming up onto the stage and stopping about 4 inches away from Hokuto's face. “Oh, I just came to pick up some Homework.” He explained. “However, I heard your enchanting voice from the Corridor, and, well, I couldn’t help but step in to Listen…”

 

“Is that… all?” He couldn't help but murmur. He pointedly ignored the word “enchanting”, lest his face become even more of a tomato then it was already threatening to be, but he couldn’t help but think that he had expected… more. Maybe something other than just Natsume invading Hokuto’s personal space and breathing at him.

 

He instantly regretted it, though, as soon as Natsume’s mesmerizing smile made its way onto his face.

 

“Did you expect something More, Hokke-kun?” He hummed, and without waiting for a response, continued, “In truth, I do have a little gift to give You, if you’ll accept It…” He gently took hold of Hokuto’s right hand, intertwining their fingers together, and brushed his lips delicately against the back of the hand, sending another rush of blood up to Hokuto’s face (though he wasn’t the only one, he happily noted as he spotted a dusting of pink on Natsume’s cheeks).

 

Right after pulling away, however, Hokuto felt something… growing. In between their still-joined hands.

 

The look in Natsume’s eyes told him this was completely intentional.

 

Unlacing their fingers to find a pretty pink flower, Hokuto couldn’t help but stare down in awe. “It’s a pink cattleya orchid,” Natsume explained, looking at him with a face that matched the orchid in colour. “As thanks for the wonderful Performance, Hokke-kun~.”

 

That was the last thing Natsume said before a (decidedly less _rank_ -smelling than what Wataru usually uses) smoke suddenly formed in between them, the magician completely gone from the theatre by the time it had dissipated, leaving only a faint whiff of cherries. An impressive trick, considering Hokuto hadn’t heard any footsteps or doors moving.

 

It was only at that moment that Hokuto allowed his face to turn red.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

As he placed the orchid alongside the other flowers in his vase, he noticed the fact that it had the same cherry scent as Natsume’s smoke. A nice touch.

 

That night’s dreams were tinted the same pink as Natsume’s cheeks.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next day after rehearsal, Hokuto decided to seek out the only person he could think of who would know about his little _issue_ for advice: Wataru.

 

Who gives someone such a _specific_ flower, after all? And Wataru seemed to know everything about everything, flower language shouldn’t be too outlandish of a topic to ask him about.

 

“Ah, Hibiki-senpai?” Hokuto murmured after Tomoya left, watching as Wataru put back the props they had been using, “I need a bit of, erm, advice, if you have time…”

 

Wataru turned his head at that, a look of surprise on his face. “Advice? About what? Your character is coming along _Amazing_ , I’m very impressed at your speech! I have to say, the tears are a _very_ nice touch~!”

 

Hokuto couldn’t help but smile at that. “Thank you very much, I appreciate it… That’s not what I wanted to ask, though.” He cleared his throat, steeling himself. “Does Hibiki-senpai happen to know anything about flower language?”

 

Hokuto knew he regretted the question as soon as seemingly hundreds of petals began to rain down on him from Wataru’s sleeve.

 

“Why, of _course_ , I know about flower language!” He cried, a bright grin appearing on his face. “What kind are you interested in learning about? Roses? Lilies? _Daisies_ ? Mm, perhaps even a _herb_ of some sort, like _mint_?!”

 

As he spoke, Wataru pulled one of each of the plants he named off from god-knows-where and placed them into Hokuto’s arms, all of which ended up on the floor a second later.

 

“Ugh, you hurt me, Hokuto-kun,” Wataru whined with a pout so heart-breaking that Hokuto had to turn away from in order to not feel bad for dumping the flowers onto the ground.

 

“Whatever…” He muttered, shaking his head. “It’s actually about a few specific flowers. Does Hibiki-senpai happen to know what white carnations and pink cattleya orchids mean?”

 

“My, what specific requests,” Wataru said, “what’s the occasion? Are you looking to get those for a _date_ ~? Hmm~?”

 

“With all due respect, Hibiki-senpai, please remove your ponytail from around my shoulders, it’s creepy when you do that…” Hokuto said with a grimace, shoving the mass of hair off, before clearing his again and continuing with, “Ah, no, it’s actually someone else who got them for _me_ … Sakasaki, in fact…”

 

The gasp that came from the club president’s throat was so sharp that Hokuto was surprised it didn’t seem to hurt.

 

“Y-you mean… my two disciples, my two students, my two prides and joys… a-are _getting along_ ? Oh, I’ve always _dreamed_ of this moment, I-I feel like a proud mother...”

 

Hokuto pointedly ignored the way _actual tears_ formed in Wataru’s eyes as he said that.

 

“Do you know what they mean, though?” He pushed, wanting to be out of there as soon as possible, frankly. “A pink cattleya is a _very_ specific flower to give someone just from watching them rehearse for a play…”

 

“ _Oh_ , so you’ve been doing private rehearsal?! I see  _that’s_ why your acting has improved so much! Goodness, Hokuto, the amount of pride I feel for you right now is _overflowing_ -”

 

“Just answer the question, Masked Freak.”

 

Wataru cut himself off with a chuckle. “Yes, yes, of course~.” As he said this, he took a white carnation out of his jacket and placed it in Hokuto’s hand (now where the hell did _that_ come from?). “White carnations, truly a charming flower. Representative of pride, _beauty_ , and _living for love_. How beautiful, no?”

 

“Yes…” He murmured, feeling his face turn the same shade, not even bothering to try and hide it this time.

 

“Natsume must _really_ like you~.” Wataru teased, before continuing, “Pink cattleya orchid… a bit more complicated, but pleasing nonetheless, I’m sure.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well, pink orchids themselves represent joy, happiness, and innocence, perhaps meaning you bring him joy, or that he wants to bring _you_ joy…” Hokuto could feel his face getting even hotter as Wataru placed the flower he was describing into his hands alongside the carnation, “however, _cattleya_ orchids specifically represent _mature charm_. The want to bring joy, and mature charm. A perfect fit for you, don’t you agree, Hokuto?”

 

Hokuto couldn’t help but let a smile find its way onto his face as he looked down at the blooms in his fingers. “How thoughtful of him.”

 

“Indeed, indeed~. I think he likes you a lot.” Wataru agreed, before giving him a light shove towards the door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a bit of private rehearsal to do myself, and I think _you_ have a boy to catch!”

 

“I-I- _what_ ?! Wait, _Hibiki-senpai-_ ”

 

“Oh, my little boy, growing up so fast!” Wataru cried as he unceremoniously shoved Hokuto into the hallway, putting some as always startlingly realistic sobs in between his words, “Mom’s cheering you on, dear!”

 

The door slammed in his face.

 

He heard the lock click into place.

 

Hokuto sighed.

 

“He needs to stop doing impressions of my mother, her voice is even more irritating coming out of his mouth…”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

**iv. Purple iris**

 

“So he really _does_ like you?!”

 

Hokuto scowled down at the orange haired idiot walking next to him.

 

“Weren’t _you_ the one who was so insistent that he did?”

 

“I mean, _yeah_ , but I didn’t think he _actually_ did!” Subaru said, _far_ too loudly for the small hallway they were walking (Hokuto caught Koga giving them a glare and sent him an apologetic look). “I was just teasing you!”

 

“That’s real nice of you, Subaru…” Mao muttered, chuckling dryly, before patting Hokuto on the back. “ _I_ wasn’t teasing you, Hokuto.”

 

“ _Thank you_ , Isara.”

 

“I wasn't either!”

 

“Yes, you were, Yuuki.”

 

“Yeah, I know, I totally was.”

 

None of them could resist laughing after that, needing to stop to catch their breath (earning yet another dirty look from Koga as he pushed past them rather harshly), before dropping Mao off at 2-B and heading to their own class.

 

There, on Hokuto’s desk, colour bright against the dark brown wood, lay a single purple iris.

 

Walking closer as if in a trance, tuning out Subaru and Makoto’s not-so-hushed gossip behind his back, he noticed there was a ribbon and a note attached.

 

Hokuto didn’t know why his hands shook slightly as he gently lifted up the card, one side scrawled with neat, loopy cursive writing: _Hokke-kun~_.

 

Turning it over, he couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped his throat:

 

 _Hokke-kun,_ the letter read,

_I’m glad you’re liking the flowers I’ve given you so Far. In case you couldn’t Tell, I’ve been building up to a little Something, so please meet me on the roof tomorrow after School, Okay? The same place I gave you the Rose, and at the same time I gave you the Carnation. Think you can do that for Me?_

 

  * __Natsume ⚡__



 

 

The little lightning bolt at the end seemed like such a _Natsume_ thing to do, and it brought a smile to his face.

 

The little note at the end, however…

 

_P.S. Purple lilacs mean ‘faith’ and ‘promise’, in case you were Wondering ;)_

 

… yeah, he was never trusting Wataru with secrets ever again.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When he finally gave in and told his grandparents about who was giving him the flowers, they simply smiled and helped Hokuto find a bigger vase (it _was_ getting pretty full, after all). Taking a whiff of both the flower and the letter, just in case, he thought about what might’ve inspired Natsume to put a _cinnamon_ scent on such a delicate flower, and wondered if he would have the courage to ask the next day.

 

Maybe he should also ask how he managed to get the cinnamon into Hokuto’s dream garden, or if that was his doing at all…

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

**v. White stock**

 

Hokuto had no idea why he was so nervous. Really, he didn’t. Natsume was just a classmate, after all, one that he was now _certain_ shared his romantic feelings, at that.

 

That didn’t really help his heart to calm down, apparently.

 

The main thing that made Hokuto nervous was, well, the fact that Natsume wasn’t even there… Hokuto was sat in the exact spot that he was sitting when Natsume has presented him with the rose that had started this whole journey, and Natsume just _forgot_ about it?

 

Well, unless Hokuto had mixed up the time. Natsume had said to meet the same time as he had been given the carnation, right? That meant 3:15. _Wait_ , he looked down at his watch, seeing it read 3:31, meaning-

 

Hokuto jolted upon his world being plunged into darkness by two hands covering his eyes, reaching up to remove them, but at the whispered, “ _Guess Who~_ ,” he relaxed, because while that deep voice had been unrecognizable just a few weeks ago, he now knew it to be…

 

“Sakasaki.” Hokuto murmured as he turned around, the hands falling from his face allowing him to see not the mysterious, butterfly-inducing smile he’s become accustomed to, but instead a bright, cheery smile on Natsume’s face, which was almost as much of a gut-punch considering how rare it was.

 

“Have you been enjoying the past few Weeks, Hokke-kun?” Natsume asked, sitting down next to Hokuto on the bench. “I apologize for not being a straight-forward as I’m sure you would’ve Liked, I’ve been a bit Nervous, you See…”

 

Hokuto blinked. Nervous? “You didn’t seem to be, at all,” He reassured, “I’m actually quite impressed.”

 

Natsume chuckled. “Thank you very Much, Hokke-kun, I appreciate It~.” He then cleared his throat turning his body to face Hokuto and, whether fortunately or _un_ fortunately for Hokuto’s heart, yet again putting on the butterfly-smile. “Time to get the Main Event, I Suppose~.”

 

“Main event…?”

 

“ _Shh, Hokke-kun_ ~,” Natsume whispered, to which Hokuto complied, before he pulled a flower from god-knows-where and presented it to Hokuto in his right hand. “This flower is known as White Stock. It’s often used a filler flower in romantic Bouquets. Their meaning is quite Beautiful, symbolizing a happy life and contented Existence…”

 

Hokuto drew in a sharp inhale at those words, staring at the bloom, if only because he found it suddenly difficult to meet Natsume’s _oh so golden_ eyes. “You… you mean…”

 

“Yes…” Natsume breathed, reaching forward with his free hand to gently tilt Hokuto’s chin up, allowing him to take note of that happy pink dusting on Natsume’s cheeks that he had noticed in the theatre and forcing Hokuto to look him in the eye as he spoke, “Hokuto, what I’m trying to say is… go out with me? **_I promise I’ll do my best to make your life as happy as possible._ **”

 

Hokuto looked back and forth between Natsume’s face and the flower, in a state of disbelief, wanting to take everything in before he forgot. He wanted this moment to last forever, the pink on Natsume’s cheeks, the softness in his eyes, the beautiful day, _everything_ , if only in his mind.

 

“Don’t leave me hanging, Hokke-kun..” He heard Natsume whine under his breath and snapped his gaze up to meet Natsume’s, feeling bad for doing just that.

 

“Oh, Natsume...” Hokuto murmured, taking a deep breath, “Making my life as happy as possible? You already have…”

 

He dearly hoped that was enough of an answer for Natsume, as he was already struggling to keep his blush contained without having to say embarrassing things like “I like you back”...

 

Luckily, though, Natsume seemed to get the message perfectly, and Hokuto could practically feel the happiness they shared in the kiss that was sealed just a moment later.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

He fell asleep with Natsume in his arms that night, staring at his vase. His grandparents _adored_ the redhead, taking the opportunity of “Hokuto’s first boyfriend!” to completely spoil him, which he frankly couldn’t tell if Natsume was happy about or not…

 

In his dream garden, alongside the red roses, the white carnations, the purple orchids, and the pink-tinted sky, there was another person. His hair was bright red, and he held a sweet-smelling white stock near Hokuto’s nose.

 

He didn’t know how, but Natsume’s smile in the morning confirmed he had seen the dream garden too.

 

+

 

**vi. Bouquet**

 

Hokuto sighed, finally shrugging off his clunky armour that he’d been wearing for the past hour and a half with the help of Tomoya.

 

“Man, this stuff is heavy…” He heard the first year mutter, still in his constricting dress and annoying hair extensions, probably making the load even worse on him, “How do you manage to wear this stuff all night without breaking your _everything_...? D-do you want a massage or something, Hokuto-senpai?”

 

“I’m good, but thanks for the offer,” He hummed, following Tomoya out to the theatre club room where the rest of the cast resided.

 

As this was a bigger play than they’d normally do, Wataru had recruited the help of the Marine Bio Club, and they were all surprised by how readily the three of them had agreed to it.

 

Speaking of which, they all seemed to be in a _very_ heated conversation with Wataru, one that Hokuto was sure was going to end in tragedy if he didn’t do something quickly, especially with Souma’s hand inching slowly towards his sword…

 

“A-ah, excuse me-” He cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the four of them, and luckily, Souma’s attention away from his sword. “I- I wanted to thank you all for coming. For participating in our play.” Hokuto punctuated the sentence with a deep bow, an action echoed by Tomoya, who now stood at his side in plain black clothing (the first year’s talent for quick changes is one that never ceased to amaze him).

 

The first reply came from Kaoru. “Hey, no problem! Not like it took any time out of our club activities.” He said with a grin. “I actually love acting, believe it or not, I really missed doin’ it.”

 

“You’re really good at it, too!” Tomoya said with a grin, earning a head pat from Kaoru. “You should join our next play too.”

 

“Aw, thanks, kid,” He laughed, “And I’ll consider it, for sure~.”

 

“I enjoyed being a part of this production as well,” Souma declared, voice booming as always, even in the small room, “though I do feel I must apologize for my rather poor performance… acting has never been a strength of mine…”

 

“I ‘thought’ you did ‘really well’~,” Kanata hummed, before turning to Wataru, “though I ‘wonder’ why the ‘president’ isn’t doing this ‘thank you’...”

 

“W- Kanata!” His fellow Oddball sputtered, “I thanked you all _profusely_ at the _start_ of the show! T-to think you’d even _imply_ that I wouldn’t, you _wound_ me-”

 

Wataru broke off into loud sobbing into his hands, making Kanata laugh. “I know~, I know~, I am just ‘teasing’ you, Wataru, haha~.”

 

The whole group burst out laughing at that, with even Wataru unable to stay in character as chuckles ripped through all of their tired throats, the adrenaline from the last show really getting to all of them, it seemed.

 

A knock on the door interrupted them, however. “Hokuto-kun?” Anzu poked her head in the door with a smile, “You have a visitor~.”

 

“I’m also here to see my Nii-sans, Kitten,” Natsume muttered, stepping into the room, “not _just_ my Boyfriend…”  

 

“Wow, I’m flattered,” Hokuto muttered dryly but stepping forward nonetheless into the hug that Natsume offered, pulling back to place a chaste kiss on his forehead. “Did you enjoy the show?” He asked with a smile.

 

“Of course, how could I Not?” He laughed, taking a step back to poof a bouquet of flowers into existence and place it into Hokuto’s hands. “I also come bearing a Gift~.”

 

“It’s very beautiful, Natsum…” He couldn’t help but stare at the bouquet in shock.

Natsume’s smile only grew the longer he spent looking.

 

In the bouquet, there were 5 types of flowers: red roses, white carnations, pink cattleya orchids and purple irises, with white stock used as filler flowers.

 

Oh, god, Hokuto was getting emotional.

 

“I hope those are happy Tears, Hokke-kun~,” Natsume rushed forward to wipe at his face, murmuring, “you like it, Right?”

 

“Of course,” Hokuto laughed, “I _love_ it.”

 

“I’m so Glad,” He hummed, taking Hokuto’s face in his hands and placing a gentle kiss on his lips, before pulling back and grinning at the rest of the group. “Now, a little birdie told me that you guys were going for celebratory Ice Cream. Mind if I Join?”

 

The amount of smiling Hokuto did for the rest of the night was enough to last him a lifetime.

 

**_fin._ **

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it!! Time to add "flower language" to my list of "random things I know SPECIFICALLY because I wrote it in a fic"... 
> 
> Big thanks to the "hey now you're an enstar" discord server for helpin me out with this, y'all are the best <33
> 
> Pls kudos and comment if you enjoyed!! Comments really help me stay motivated to write more, so if you like it pls :')) pls comment :'))
> 
> Catch me on twitter @ahhhshikiba!! pls scream at me abt the enstars kids I love them
> 
> Reid out (´｡ • ω • ｡`)


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